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Lance Armstrong faces $100 million in damages

Posted at 9:51 PM, Feb 23, 2013
and last updated 2013-02-24 00:01:24-05

(WTVR) – Cyclist Lance Armstrong now faces a big lawsuit after he made a confession on an Oprah interview.

The U.S. Justice Department and a federal whistle-blower are asking for almost $100 million in damages, claiming Armstrong and his team “knowingly caused the USPS agreements to be violated by regularly employing banned substances and methods to enhance their performance.”

The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by Floyd Landis, one of Armstrong’s former teammates.  According to the New York Times, Landis said Armstrong’s team did not tell their sponsors he was doping because the contract banned the use of performance-enhancing drugs.  Between 2001 to 2004, the contract was worth $31 million.

If Armstrong loses, Landis could receive up to a fourth of the damages.